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Discourses of Decision Making in Child Protection: Condusting Comprehensive Assessments in Britain
Author(s) -
Holland S.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2397.00094
Subject(s) - work (physics) , sociology , relation (database) , social work , process (computing) , public relations , child protection , qualitative research , social psychology , epistemology , social science , political science , psychology , law , computer science , engineering , mechanical engineering , philosophy , database , operating system
Findings from a qualitative study of comprehensive assessments in child protection social work in the UK are discussed. The accounts of social workers in formal interviews, informal interactions and case files are analysed, examining their explanations and understandings of the process of decision making. Two discourses of decision making are discerned: scientific observation and reflective evaluation. Whilst most social workers understand their work, at different times, through both discourses, it is argued that the discourse of scientific observation becomes the dominant one when communicating with other agencies such as the court. The findings are discussed in relation to wider issues in contemporary social work including the bureaucratisation of social work and the nature of assessment.